Elastic material and process of producing same.



iTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADOLPI'I MARCUS DIEDRIOH OLASEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ELASTIC MATERIAL AND PROCESS OF PRODUCING SAME.

SEEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 710,564, dated October7, 1902.

Application filed September 20, 1901. Serial No. 75.877. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADoLrH MARCUS DIED- RICH CLASEN, of the city ofChicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented a certainnew and useful Improvement in Elastic Material and Processes ofProducing the Same, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my in vention is to produce an economical substitute forand improvement upon cork,which may be used with especial advantage insealing or stopper-ing the mouths of bottles containing chargedbeverages-such as beer, .pop, champagne, and the like-this new materialpossessing properties of durability and imperviousness to liquids andgases beyond that possessed by cork and having also the advantage of notimparting objectionable flavor to sparkling or carbonated beveragescoming in contact with it, a better resistant of decay, heat,liquid-pressure, and the effects of handling than cork, while it mayalso be used as a packing, as a flooring, and in the manufacture of thenumerous articles of merchandise now made from the natural cork. Toproduce this elastic material, I prefer to employ as a basal constituentof my product ground cork, which may be had by cutting up or grindingthe corks which have been once used, commonly known as old corks, vastquantities of which are thrown away each year as valueless, or bygrinding or cutting in fine pieces the waste from the cork bark, thoughsome of the advantages of my invention maybe obtained by treating thelinoleum of commerce or the whole corks, as hereinafter moreparticularly described. Where ground cork is used, I mix it thoroughlywith linseed or other vegetable oil, oxidizing the mixture by addingoxid of iron or chlorid of sulfur or other oxidizing agent until thewhole inass has the desired degree of hardness or consistency, generallyabout the hardness of the toughergrades of leather, the degree ofhardness and consistency depending somewhat on the use to which thecompleted product is to be put and varying accordingly. When anadditional degree of consistency and cohesion is required, I stirthrough the mixture a fine fibersuch as cotton, flax, or Wool-thecomposition at this stage being similar in its properties to thelinoleum of commerce. I have found it convenient at this stage to stampor mold the composition into the shapes which it is desired the finishedproduct should attain; but this may be done at other stages oftheprocess. The composition is next laid in asolution of water andwashing-soda forabout forty-eight hours and then removed and thoroughlydried in the open air for a period of from one to two days. The periodof drying may be somewhat shortened by the application of artificialheat; butI consider that drying by atmospheric absorption for the periodabove mentioned is the better method, especially as the odor of the oilis better ab sorbed in the open air than in an inclosed space. Theapplication of this solution of soda neutralizes the objectionable tasteand odor of the vegetable oil which might otherwise be imparted toliquids and gases coming in contact with the composition. This solutionof soda maybe applied to cleanse the whole corks or the linoleum ofcommerce when these are used in place of the ground cork treated asabove described. It is obvious that where corks or linoleum are used theapplication of vegetable oil and the oxidation may be dispensed with. Inext put the composition (whether linoleum, cork, or the above-describedpreparation of ground cork) in a solution of thin varnish, consisting ofshellac dissolved in alcohol, to which I add, preferably, from two tofive per cent. of glycerin. The object of applying this varnish is tofill the pores of the composition, toughening and imparting to it thequali ties of durability, elasticity, and imperviousness to gases andliquids, while the addition of the glycerin tends to prevent the varnishfrom cracking or peeling. The composition is next dried, and as a finalstep in my process Idip it in a boiling solution consisting of nineparts of paraffin and one part of resin. The dipping must be done asnearly instantaneously as possible, the object of this being to preventany carbonated liquid with which the composition may come in contactfrom drawing taste or odor from the varnish.

The use of the varnish above described may be dispensed with altogetherwhere the article to be made will not come in contact with carbonicgases. Its use would be unnecessary in the manufacture of packing or ina stopper for a bottle containing whisky. The application of the boilingsolution of paraifin and resin may be for certain purposes dispensedwith altogether and the varnish alone applied.

While I have named the agents and properties which I think desirable touse, these proportions may be varied to some extent and equivalentssubstituted for some of the agents specified.

Having described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secureLetters Patcut for, is

1. The herein-described improvement in the manufacture of elasticmaterial, consisting in mixing ground cork with oxidized vegetable oil,saturating in a solution of soda, drying, soaking with a solution ofshellac, alcohol and glycerin, drying and dipping in a bath of boilingparaffin and resin.

2. The herein-described improvement in the manufacture of elasticmaterial, consisting in mixing ground cork with oxidized vegetable oil,saturating in a solution of soda, drying and dipping in a solution ofboiling paraffin and resin.

3. The herein-described process of manufacturing elastic material,consisting in mixing ground cork with oxidized vegetable oil, saturatingin a solution of soda, drying and soaking with a solution of shellac,alcohol and glycerin.

4. The herein-described improvement in the manufacture of elasticmaterial, consisting in mixing ground cork with oxidized vegetable oil,drying and soaking with a solution of shellac, alcohol and glycerin.

5. As a new article of manufacture, the herein-described elasticmaterial, consisting of ground cork mixed in oxidized vegetable oil,saturated in a solution of soda, dried, soaked in a solution of shellac,alcohol and glycerin, dried and dipped in a bath of boiling paraffin andresin.

6. As a new article of manufacture, the herein-described elasticmaterial, consisting of ground cork mixed in oxidized vegetable oil,saturated in a solution of soda, dried, and dipped in a solution ofboiling parafliu and resin.

7. As a new article of manufacture, the herein-described elasticmaterial, consisting of ground cork mixed with oxidized vegetable oil,saturated in a solution of soda, dried, and soaked in a solution ofshellac, alcohol and glycerin.

8. As a new article of manufacture, the herein-described elasticmaterial, consisting of ground cork mixed with oxidized-vegetable oiland dried and soaked with a solution of shellac, alcohol and glycerin.

ADOLPH MARCUS DIEDRICH OLASEN.

Witnesses:

CHARLES L. HINE, ROBERT CATHERWOOD.

